New York, NY – In today’s day and age, health insurance has become even more challenging to navigate. In many instances, patients are not able to access information about their financial commitment around treatment options. And with a lot of misinformation and clutter out there, the frustration of all of this has become so severe that often times patients and caregivers are spending more time dealing with insurance claims versus obtaining the care that they need.
While there are some health organizations that are trying to innovate the payment and value model for patients, it doesn’t cover everything. Groups like ParsleyHealth offer membership-based care that includes health coaching, direct messaging, access to all medical data, referrals, scripts, on call doctors, medical visits and more, for no additional fees. This provides value for patients beyond the norm, but it tends to be specific to primary care.
So, what happens when you’re referred to an out of network specialist or require an expensive medical test? –
A patient is seen, evaluated and then must spend time sending in their bills for reimbursement.
To alleviate this issue, companies have tried to create new service offerings to help patients deal with this. Better, an app focused on insurance claims is an eye-opening service. Patients and caregivers take photos of their bills, submit them via the app, and the company works until they can either get reimbursement or until the insurance company declares that the treatment or tests are not covered. For their efforts, Better takes 10% of the final claim reimbursement, but any revenue they generate is used to pay for medical treatment for Americans in severe medical debt. It’s an impressive model that benefits people in many facets of the healthcare system.
Why This Matters –
With their unique business model, Better App, is an incredible health tool that can help patients spend more time getting better versus dealing with the stress and frustration of medical claims. Think about it: If a patient goes to a psychiatrist who tells them that they need to make efforts to reduce anxiety and tension, dealing with insurance denials, high costs, insurance loopholes, and more will allow for effective care. If a patient needs heavy care from a family member, but the family member spends half their time taking care of their loved one, and the other half handling medical claims, they will be unable to sustain their level of care. When care and claims become a full-time job, that also leaves little time to maintain a job or handle much else.
So when we think about aspects of the healthcare industry, it’s important to call out apps like Better, because they alleviate some of the pressures of medical payment, which in turn influences their care away from their doctors. It allows patients and caregivers to be more empowered to take on their disease or illnesses versus the insurance companies.
